TWO exclusive: Audio ties Invisible Children to stealth evangelism

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BURLINGTON, Vt. – Invisible Children today released its much-anticipated sequel to its KONY 2012 video. But exclusive audio obtained by Truth Wins Out (TWO) reveals that San Diego-based Invisible Children may have a hidden agenda that is more ideological than idealistic.

In audio TWO discovered from a 2005 Christian conference in San Antonio, Invisible Children’s co-founder Jason Russell called his organization a “Trojan Horse” designed to infiltrate secular institutions and surreptitiously promote his group’s version of Christian fundamentalism. The audiotape reveals that that his organization is particularly focused on targeting youth in public schools. According to Russell’s remarks (0:44):

“Coming in January we are trying to hit as many high schools, churches, and colleges as possible with this movie. We are able to be the Trojan Horse in a sense, going into a secular realm and saying, guess what life is about orphans, and it’s about the widow. It’s about the oppressed. That’s God’s heart. And to sit in a public high school and tell them about that has been life-changing. Because they get so excited. And it’s not driven by guilt, it’s driven by an adventure and the adventure is God’s.”

“This vividly reveals Invisible Children’s invisible agenda,” said Wayne Besen, Truth Wins Out’s executive director. “This group is not simply about exposing LRA leader Joseph Kony, but engaging in stealth evangelism. Invisible Children sold themselves as romantic idealists, but the evidence suggests that they are more like fundamentalist ideologues.”

Invisible Children first raised alarms after researcher Bruce Wilson showed the group was funded by the National Christian Foundation, a fundamentalist outfit that finances extremist right wing organizations and anti-gay groups. Wilson also discovered that Invisible Children was intimately linked to The Family, the secretive and powerful American fundamentalist group widely considered responsible for Uganda’s draconian “Kill the Gays” bill.

Forbes reported yesterday that conservative strongholds such as Oklahoma City and Alabama were surprisingly the driving force behind making the KONY2012 video go viral.

Truth Wins Out is a nonprofit organization that fights anti-LGBT extremism. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality.